Enchilada Lasagna

Pinterest inspiration strikes again!  I was looking for a recipe that would help me use up a lot of things I had sitting around in my pantry.  This recipe from mogwai soup did just that, allowing me to use 3 cans that otherwise may not have been used.

I followed the blogger's basic recipe and method, but made a lot of changes, (which hopefully made it a teeny bit healthier).  Some of the changes include: reducing the canned soup to 1 can (rather than 2), reducing the cheese by half, reducing the tortillas, adding onions and canned tomatoes. Because of the addition of the tomatoes, the color of my filling was not as white and creamy looking as the blogger.  The tempting, cheesy top, however will definitely draw in the masses, who are bound to come back for seconds!  To counteract this slight color change, and to add to flavor, I think next time I'll be adding in a half (or maybe full) container of enchilada sauce.

Here is the recipe, heavily inspired from here.

Enchilada Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 clove of garlic, grated
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 lbs chicken breast, chopped to bite pieces (marinated overnight in 1 tsp grill seasoning and 3-4 TB Zesty Italian dressing)
1 tsp taco seasoning
2 1/2 cups of mexican blend cheese
1 can of healthy request cream of celery soup (or cream of any other soup)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup canned and chopped green chillies (not drained) (reduce amount for milder flavor)
1 can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano (no salt added), drained
about 6 small corn tortillas
sliced, jarred jalapenos (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Heat oil in a skillet.  Add onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, 3-4 minutes.  Be careful not to let the garlic burn.  Add chicken pieces only (not the liquid marinade).  Sprinkle with taco seasoning, and cook over high heat until brown, about 5 minutes.  (You don't need to cook it through completely because it will continue to cook in the oven).  Set the chicken aside, and let cool.  I chopped the chicken into a small dice once it cooled .

In a bowl combine cream of celery soup, sour cream, chicken and green chillies. Put 1/2 cup of cream mix on the bottom of the baking dish (I used 13 x 9) and spread. Layer a row of tortillas (cut to fill in corners) followed with cream/chicken mix and cheese. You should be able to make 2 layers like this (cream, tortillas, cream, cheese, tortillas, cream, cheese).  Top with jalapenos, if using.

Bake, uncovered for 20 - 25 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream, guacamole, or sliced avocado or whatever else you like to serve with your enchiladas (sliced onions, tomatoes, salsa, etc).